To Whom Did he Tell

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 12/31/17

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^NIV Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

I remember some years back hearing about shepherds and having a sheepherder come and talk to the group about how it all works. It is hard work watching over the herds especially in the first century. That job would have been delegated to the youngest boy or to the lowest slave on the totem pole. Late nights in the fields watching for wolves, large cats or other predators who desired to eat or steal the flock. As is usual in a community environment, the youngest would often wonder off to explore and the shepherd would have to go looking for the lost sheep. That is why they carry the staff they carry with a hooked end on it. They use it to lower it down into the crevice and gently life the young lamb out of danger. They also carry slingshots to ward off dangerous animals and we know from the story of David and Goliath, they know how to use it. I am told that when a young lamb is injured or ill, the shepherd places over his shoulders, around his neck and whispers its name until it gets well. What a great story and imagine for a moment that Jesus does the same for us.

Shepherds also allow us to connect with other stories in the Bible. For example, do you remember that David was a lowly shepherd that God called to do great things for the nation of Israel. In fact, Jesus is the answer to a promise that God made to David that his throne would never cease to exist. For folks listening to this birth narrative in Luke, it would have been easy to make the connection Jesus to David and even to understand why God chose Shepherds to tell first. Then we have the whole Jesus is the Lamb thing. John’s narrative use this image of Jesus as the Lamb of God throughout the story to share the sacrificial being of Jesus.

So why Bethlehem? Bethlehem is considered the birthplace of David. Bethlehem means House of Bread and that fits perfectly with the biblical story of Jesus who feeds us the nurturing food of eternal life. Bethlehem was a fortified city in the time of Jesus because it had water. Bethlehem is the place where the prophets said the Messiah would be born. So all of these things come together in the Luke narrative to give authenticity to Jesus as the Messiah.

So why tell the shepherds? We can already see that God holds them in a special place because of David. The shepherds are the people that face adversity every day as they protect their flock. Shepherds would be the perfect people to share the story of the Messiah since Jesus is coming in their lineage in a matter of speaking through David. Shepherds allow the Gospel writers to connect the pieces between Jesus birth and the prophecy of that birth so that they can point to authentic evidence that Jesus is who He said He was.

There is a story—they say it is true—about an old sheepherder in the hills of Idaho. He was a faithful listener to one of the finer musical programs on the radio. One night after listening to a concert, he wrote to the station with a most unusual request. He said, “I thoroughly enjoy your program from New York every week. I am writing to ask you a favor. I am a shepherd, and I get lonely up here in the hills. No one lives near me. I have little to entertain me except the radio. I have an old violin that I could play, but it is badly out of tune. I wonder if you could just take a moment on your program next week and strike ‘A’ on your piano so that I could tune my violin.”

When the people at the radio station read his letter, they smiled. One asked, “Why interrupt our program, which has thousands of listeners, for one little old shepherd?” Another said, “Why not? It will bring joy into his life, and I think our listeners would agree.” And so they honored his request. They interrupted their next program long enough to strike an “A” on the piano. The old shepherd in the hills of Idaho got the right pitch on his violin.

As people, we often ignore the single request for the masses. However, shepherds never do. They will search for that one little lost lamb until the find it. Jesus is doing the same things, sharing His story with the world around Him so that everyone single lost lamb can find love in the world. Not just the elite of the world, but the marginalized, the common folk, the people who connect with shepherds. Maybe the most important reason God spoke to the shepherds to let us know how important we are to God. That no matter what our role in life is, there is no place that God’s love does not reach. God spoke to the shepherds first so that the message of God’s birth would come to all people. God wanted each of to know that God’s love is for us.

Well in few short hours, we will meet the New Year, 2018. I have high hopes and prayers for 2018 and for the life of Sydenstricker in that New Year. I invite you to read the Bible in Chronological order this year. The reading list is in the Narthex in the Kiosk. I also will invite you to take the two important surveys that we use here to know who you are and how well we are doing. They are available through the Pastor so please let me know you are interested in learning more about your discipleship and your strengths. Finally, I invite you to consider joining or forming a small group. Information about small groups is in the current issue of the Steeple.

This year when you make your new year’s resolutions, consider asking God what God desires of you in your daily prayers. Consider giving 15-30 minutes every morning to devotion, Bible reading and prayer. It will change your life, I promise you. Discipleship is not a spectator sport. It is a place where we grow in our relationship with God. We become shepherds to the flocks we encounter every day. Being part of the Body means joining those who are already on the journey. Becoming Christ means learning to emulate Christ in our own lives and Joining Christ means that we serve one another.